The bodies of a Belgian couple in their eighties were found in the Hérault region on Wednesday, announced the Béziers public prosecutor's office on Saturday, which “strongly favours the hypothesis that the man committed suicide after violently killing his wife”.
“The initial investigation revealed that the woman was suffering from a serious pathology and that her husband had complained to the neighbours about her aggressive behaviour towards him”, wrote Béziers public prosecutor Raphaël Balland in a press release.
The events took place in a residence in Portiragnes, near the famous seaside resort of Agde. Police discovered the man “hanged” and “the bloodied body of his wife” nearby.
“Until then, no evidence of domestic violence had been brought to the attention of either the police or the judicial authorities”, added the public prosecutor, who entrusted the investigations to the research brigade of the Béziers gendarmerie company. Autopsies are scheduled for early next week.
In 2023, 96 women were victims of conjugal femicide in France, a figure down 19% on 2022, according to the Ministry of the Interior's report published on November 26, 2024.
